just returned from Amoeba music...got out of there with only $65 damage, a miracle, really.

it was a pricey import, but this new Hothouse Flowers disc sure sounds like a winner. i swear to GnMtn, people - go see them when they come around in September or October. even if you don't know their stuff, they'll bowl your socks over and off with their pure musicality. (ah, the Irish, how do they do it?) start with the albums Home or People. if you're not happy with the music, i'll personally have Mick refund every penny, plus emotional damages.

also grabbed

* the new Patty Griffin

* some Bobby Bare Jr. (excellent alt-country out of Nashville, son of - you guessed it - the guy with the same name, minus the jr.)

* a John Frusciante CD, Shadows Collide With People

* Momus - Oskar Tennis Champion (uniquely unique 'analog baroque' from London. if you ever see his album Little Red Songbook, check it out; it's one of the cleverest and most creative things i've heard. his lyrics almost make db's look pedestrian. i do not type phrases like that lightly.)

and see, i too made it through a post without a reference to old what's-his-criminal-racket. well, almost: http://www.jibjab.com/ (takes a while to load but very well worth it!)